"Wake in the deepest dark of night and hear the driving rain. Reach out a hand and take a paw and go to sleep again."
-Charlotte Gray

Friday, October 23, 2009

Quarai, Abo & Gran Quivira

Abo

These three sites are part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Quarai

And if you get an early start, it's possible to visit them all in one day. Gran Quivira

You might want to bring a picnic and have lunch at one of the missions.Gran Quivira

The mission churches were mostly constructed in the early 17th century by Native American people after the arrival of European missionaries. They were abandoned in the 1670's due to a devastating drought. While Abo and Gran Quivira are larger, I think I liked Quarai best. The grounds were beautiful to walk through and when we visited there was a slight breeze and the cottonwoods sounded like water. It's possible to have the grounds nearly to yourself especially at Quarai, even in summer.

Dog and Butterfly

Holly's Memory Candle

"We should understand well that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We should know the Great Spirit is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains and the four legged and winged peoples; and even more important, we should understand that the Great Spirit is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, then we will fear and love and know the Great Spirit, and then we will act and live as the Spirit intends" ~ Black Elk